BUCKEYE, AZ — A West Valley teen put a lesson learned in school to practical use and saved a life in a chaotic situation.
Morgan Bosley, Ryder Allen, and Logan Bluth are all able to laugh about it now, but nothing was funny when Ryder broke both of his legs after jumping off a cliff over the summer.
Lucky for Ryder - he surrounds himself with good company.
"He could have died,” said Logan Bluth.
“As soon as he hit, we knew something was wrong,” said Morgan Bosley.
Both Morgan and Logan are high school students who split their time between school and the career training programs at the West Maricopa Education Center in Buckeye.
Morgan is studying the dental field and Logan is learning the electrical trade.
Last year, all who attended got the chance to learn from the National Guard on how to "Stop the Bleed." A lesson on proper tourniquet training and gauze application for an open wound taught by the National Guard.
“Knowing a little bit of how to stop the bleed, really can save someone's life,” said Sgt. Jesus Barraza, a recruiter with the National Guard.
A few weeks after the training, Ryder, Morgan, and Logan took to the Salt River for a tubing trip with a group of church friends.
Ryder saw others cliff jumping and found a spot to take a plunge from over 30 feet, he says.
"The second I jumped I knew I wasn't going to make it. I was just thinking, 'This is a really dumb idea, you're an idiot,'” said Ryder.
Ryder says he landed at a part of the river just inches deep.
He later found out he broke the tibia on his left leg near his ankle and had multiple fractures in his right shin.
At the moment, he was bleeding with little strength to swim to safety.
"I was scared, It felt like a movie. I was like there is no way this could be happening right now,” said Morgan.
Morgan put the fear aside and let her "Stop the Bleed" training kick in.
She wrapped Ryder's foot and recruited Logan and others to make sure it was elevated.
Ryder was floated down the Salt River before he was carried to the car and taken to the hospital, all in over 100-degree heat.
“He had a lot of dead weight on us,” said Logan laughing as he looks at Ryder.
Around the time Ryder was getting his cast off, Morgan was recognized by the National Guard for using "Stop the Bleed" techniques in the real world.
With friends like hers, you never know when you'll use that training again.
"I would absolutely do it again,” said Ryder. “Just need to be safer this next time.”
